Saturday, October 10, 2015

Steampunk Granny's Review of The Martian

I’m going to say right up front that I believe in
the Space Program and I feel strongly that we should be investing in going to
other planets instead of destroying the one we live on with wars and unbridled
pollution. Now, I’ll tell you why I absolutely loved the Ridley Scott film, The
Martian, starring Matt Damon. The film is based on Andy Weir’s 2011 novel of
the same name.

Growing up in the early fifties, my generation was
introduced to the theory of space travel, aliens and the pros and cons of both.
We had Flash Gordon to lead the way on our little tiny television screens. You
can only imagine my joy when a human first set foot on the moon. That said,
with all our science and technology, we land lubbers, who neither travel deep
within the ocean or fly high in space shuttles, have no idea what to expect if
we were able to go to Mars.

Plot

The action starts when the Ares III, a manned
mission on Mars, is hit by an intense storm. Mars is not the friendliest of
planets, but then again, neither is Earth. Mark Watney (Matt Damon), a botanist,
is separated from the rest of the crew. The Captain Melissa Lewis (Jessica
Chastain) and the others fear him dead. They are forced to evacuate the planet
before their ship is damaged beyond repair. While they travel the long journey
back home, they are unaware that Mark is alive.

Conclusion

I don’t want to say any more about the film, except
that it is extremely well done and I really enjoyed it.You are right
there with Mark as he realizes his dilemma; not enough food to survive until
another ship can return. We cringe with fear when things are not going well for
our astronaut and we celebrate with him when he succeeds. The scenery of Mars
and space is breathtaking. The Martian is the first realistic film that shows
what it will take to survive on another world.

Is it important to support our Space Program? Yes! It’s
one thing to send up a probe to take samples of an alien planet’s soil, but we also need to send up a human. Is it
unreasonable to expect humans to live on Mars? Maybe...and yet...this is what
we, as an intelligent species, must do. We were always meant to leave this planet
and find new homes. Exploration is wired
into us. We are engineered to go forth and as explore. Go see the film. You’ll love it.